There's probably no bigger loan you'll ever take out than your mortgage. It usually takes decades to pay back that debt, and most of us consider it a regular expense that's just part of our budget. But it's still borrowed money, and some financial experts agree: you should pay your mortgage off early, if you can. But others argue this isn't the smartest idea.

At Two Cents, we cover a lot of posts that include some pretty standard personal finance advice. However basic this advice may be, not everyone agrees with it. And that's okay, because sometimes, traditional advice is worth questioning. In our "Money Advice the Experts Don't Agree On" series, we dig a little deeper into these seemingly basic topics and look at different perspectives on the matter.

The Case for Early Payoff

Financial guru Dave Ramsey has long been in favor of paying off your mortgage early. In fact, he lists it as Step #6 in his "journey to financial peace":

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Now it's time to begin chunking all of your extra money toward the mortgage. You are getting closer to realizing the dream of a life with no house payments. As you attack this last debt, you will gain momentum much like you did back in the second step of the debt snowball. Remember, having absolutely no payments is totally within your reach!

Financial writer J. Money of Budgets are Sexy recently touched on this topic. We featured his post on the power of doing just one thing; in it, he points out the benefit of paying off your mortgage and saving that monthly payment instead. Obviously, those savings are going to add up and will eventually lead to a higher net worth. Still, J. Money recognizes both sides of the coin. He first explained to us the case for early pay off:

The debate on paying off your mortgage or not is most definitely alive and well. On the one hand, paying your house off in full gives you an incredible sense of freedom since you've now nixed the number one expense you'll probably ever have in your life, and emotionally it becomes a major win as well. The whole "helps you sleep better at night" type of deal. Most people hate debt, and the idea of having a completely paid-off house is an incredible dream - especially since you rarely hear anyone these days in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s ever doing so.

That's the bottom line in the pay-it-off camp: you're getting out of debt, and you don't owe anyone anything. That's a good feeling. But some argue that good feeling comes at a price.

The Alternative: Invest Your Payments Instead

In the other camp, some savvy investors and financial experts say it makes more sense to invest their money instead of use it to pay off debt. If the interest rate of their mortgage is lower than their expected return, they'd rather see that money grow. J. Money adds:

...they believe they can get a much higher return going that route instead (key word there being "believe"). If your mortgage interest is 4%, but you think you can get 8% putting your money elsewhere, then, financially speaking, the smarter move is to invest your money instead. Why wouldn't you take double the return?

Forbes contributor Rob Russell recently tackled this topic, too. He argues that it might make sense to "think like a bank" and consider your "spread." A bank's spread is the amount they loan out minus what they're paying customers on deposits. So if you're paying 3% on your mortgage, and you can earn 5% by investing, your "spread" would be two percent.

You should consider this number when thinking about paying off your mortgage. Is it significant? How stable is your return? Investing might make more practical sense. And this might not only apply to mortgage payments, but auto loans, too.

However, this strategy does have an inherent risk. Nothing is guaranteed with investing, even with an average rate of return. While investing is still a smart money move, it's not completely without risk, especially when you're investing with borrowed money. Paying off debt, on the other hand, is "risk-free"—your money goes where it's supposed to go.

But the bottom line in the investing camp is: paying off debt early might mean a missed opportunity for growth.

Other Reasons Not To Pay Off Debt

Earning money from investing isn't the only reason not to pay off a mortgage. In her Forbes piece, Anderson lists some other reasons:

You aren't maxing out your retirement: If your employer offers a retirement match, Anderson says you should first make sure you're taking full advantage of this. It might not make sense to pay extra on your mortgage at the cost of giving up free money.

You're getting a tax break: Anderson explains that someone in the 25 percent tax bracket who has $20,000 in mortgage interest will get a $5000 tax deduction on the interest. This might even be more, depending on the state. So if you're getting a tax break, it might also make more sense to keep your mortgage than to pay it off.

Mind Vs. Math

We've often write about how money has much to do with mindset. And even Forbes points out that, while the above math makes sense on paper, some people prefer peace of mind. Contributor Nancy Anderson suggests a method for having it both ways. You take three to five years of your mortgages payments and invest them in a separate account. Then, you can directly debit your house payment from that account.

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This way, you'll have the security of knowing your house payments are set for the next few years, but your money is still earning interest.

But, speaking of mind over matter, J. Money agrees that, sometimes, peace of mind can come at a price. He brings up a wealthy friend who still kicks himself for paying off his mortgage all at once years ago.

He was sold on the emotional level, but the following year his investments doubled and he now looks at his mortgage-free home as a huge mistake….Hard to feel bad for a guy that has plenty of money to play with, but the point is that this stuff can go either way.

If you're in a position to consider paying off your mortgage at all, you're probably in a good place. As J. Money points out, you should consider both camps, figure out what works for you, and then move forward with your plan.